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Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, WA welcomed three male African lion cubs on October 24. Mother Adia and cubs are bonding and nursing well in an off-view maternity den. Zoo staff will monitor the newborn lions over the next several weeks to ensure their healthy development.

Watch a video of Adia and her cubs the day they were born:

In the wild, African lions inhabit the grasslands, shrub, and open woodlands of sub-Saharan Africa. They are considered vulnerable of extinction by the IUCN Red List. They are threatened by loss/fragmentation of habitat as well as disease. They are also killed by humans in bravery rituals, as hunting trophies, for medicinal powers, or by ranchers protecting their livestock. To learn more about lions, see our lion facts article.

Lincoln Park Zoo is celebrating the birth of a female baby klipspringer (Afrikaans for “rock jumper”) on March 30.

According to Curator of Mammals, Mark Kamhout, “The klipspringer calf is healthy and eating well and, as a result, has almost doubled her weight since birth. Currently, the calf is being hand-reared by our animal care staff after the mother was unable to provide adequate care.”

The team will provide around-the-clock care for the little antelope until she is ready to navigate the terrain of the klipspringer habitat.

Watch a video of the baby klipspringer here:

In the wild, klipspringers inhabit central and eastern Africa. They are dwarf antelope, reaching an average of 24 pounds.

On March 12, Imani, an 18-year-old gorilla at the San Diego Zoo, gave birth to a 4.6 pound baby via caesarian section. The infant was treated for pneumonia and other complications after birth at the animal hospital.

But 12 days later, baby and mama were reunited! Imani immediate cradled her baby in her arms and has been doting on the newborn ever since.

In this photo taken on Monday, March 24, 2014, and provided by the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, a 12-day old baby gorilla is physically introduced to her mother, Imani, for the first time at the San Diego Zoo. (AP Photo/San Diego Zoo Safari Park, Matt Gelvin)

As we discussed in our gray wolf facts article, gray wolves are keystone predators. They help maintain a healthy ecosystem by preying upon weak animals, thereby strengthening the herd as a whole.

In this video, George Monbiot reveals how the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park after a 70-year absence not only changed the ecosystem of the park, it also altered the physical landscape.